As the snow fades away, the Phoenix Rises event is here to rain fire upon the battlefield, with new varieties of the BattleMaster, Locust and Shadowhawk; Warming us from winter's coil.

For one week, these new variants will be available for MC purchase only. During this time, fans can be the first to field test the ranged might of the BLR-3M's deadly ER-PPC or the LCT-1M's twin missile systems. You can dive right in and bring the heat close to their enemies with the combined arms of the SHD-2D or the LCT-1E.

Those owners of other BLR, SHD and LCT variants won't be left out in the dusty cold though: We are also pleased to light a fire under these Mechs with a sale on chassis-unlocks for Fractal, Buccaneer, and Hotrod patterns on these chassis'.

A firestorm is brewing as a cold front of balance changes for small-caliber Auto-Cannons is sweeping in while things are heating up a bit for SRMs. These and other incendiary weapons should see a marked improvement in hit-registration, with fewer de-syncs taking place due to changes in the host-state-rewind logic.

Before things get any hotter though, we can cool you off with some good news regarding in-game water, which has seen a performance boost on all settings lower than Very-High. This is combined with actually cooling you off with an optimization to the way water affects your 'Mech's heat. To help keep your system from overheating in the smoke and embers: We've moved projectile explosion performance to the server-side.

Finally, if you previously experienced hangs during the game, we hope you should see a change or disappearance of this issue and a rebirth of hassle-free entertainment. Players who continue to be affected by this issue are encouraged to let us know as soon as possible. We also heard your feedback about our recently added game mode selection feature. Just as the Phoenix always returns: You may be pleased to hear that the selection you make on your game mode preferences will now be saved in between matches if you are playing solo! Some DX11 visual glitches as well as errors involving the Group and Social systems have also found themselves roasted under the firebird's breath.

You can get a breakdown of these and other fixes listed below the Phoenix Rises 'Mech specifications, which follow.

Warmest regards,Nikolai LubkiewiczContent

New MechsBattleMaster BLR-3M

Tonnage: 85

Engine: 340 StandardTop Speed: 64.8 kph

Max Engine Rating: 400

&bullet; Torso Movement:

60 degrees to each side.

20 degrees up and down.

&bullet; Arm Movement:

30 degrees to each side.

30 degrees up and down.

&bullet; Armor: 464 (Standard)

&bullet; Internal Structure: Standard

&bullet; Weapons & Equipment:

Left Arm: Machine Gun

Left Torso: Medium Laser x3, SRM 6, CASE

Right Torso: Medium Laser x3

Right Arm: ER PPC

&bullet; Hardpoints:

Left Arm: 1 Ballistic

Left Torso: 3 Energy, 1 Missile

Right Torso: 3 Energy, 1 AMS

Right Arm: 2 Energy

&bullet; Heat Sinks: 18 Double

&bullet; Jump Jets: 0 (0 Max)

&bullet; ECM Capable?: No

&bullet; Module Slots: 2

&bullet; Movement Archetype: Huge

&bullet; Quirks:

Torso Yaw Speed -20%

Torso Pitch Speed -20%

BattleMaster BLR-3S

Tonnage: 85

Engine: 340 XLTop Speed: 64.8 kph

Max Engine Rating: 400

&bullet; Torso Movement:

80 degrees to each side.

20 degrees up and down.

&bullet; Arm Movement:

30 degrees to each side.

30 degrees up and down.

&bullet; Armor: 448 (Standard)

&bullet; Internal Structure: Standard

&bullet; Weapons & Equipment:

Left Torso: Medium Pulse Laser x3, SRM 6, CASE

Right Torso: Medium Pulse Laser x3, CASE

Right Arm: LRM 20

&bullet; Hardpoints:

Left Torso: 3 Energy, 1 Missile

Right Torso: 3 Energy, 1 AMS

Right Arm: 1 Missile

&bullet; Heat Sinks: 22 Single

&bullet; Jump Jets: 0 (0 Max)

&bullet; ECM Capable?: No

&bullet; Module Slots: 2

&bullet; Movement Archetype: HugeLocust LCT-1E

Tonnage: 20

Engine: 160 StandardTop Speed: 129.6 kph

Max Engine Rating: 190

&bullet; Torso Movement:

120 degrees to each side.

20 degrees up and down.

&bullet; Arm Movement:

0 degrees to each side.

60 degrees up and down.

&bullet; Armor: 128 (Standard)

&bullet; Internal Structure: Standard

&bullet; Weapons & Equipment:

Left Arm: Medium Laser, Small Laser

Right Arm: Medium Laser, Small Laser

&bullet; Hardpoints:

Left Arm: 3 Energy

Right Torso: 1 AMS

Right Arm: 3 Energy

&bullet; Heat Sinks: 10 Single

&bullet; Jump Jets: 0 (0 Max)

&bullet; ECM Capable?: No

&bullet; Module Slots: 2

&bullet; Movement Archetype: TinyLocust LCT-1M

Tonnage: 20

Engine: 160 StandardTop Speed: 129.6 kph

Max Engine Rating: 190

&bullet; Torso Movement:

135 degrees to each side.

20 degrees up and down.

&bullet; Arm Movement:

0 degrees to each side.

60 degrees up and down.

&bullet; Armor: 32 (Standard)

&bullet; Internal Structure: Standard

&bullet; Weapons & Equipment:

Left Arm: LRM 5

Center Torso: Medium Laser

Right Arm: LRM 5

&bullet; Hardpoints:

Left Arm: 1 Missile

Center Torso: 2 Energy

Right Torso: 1 AMS

Right Arm: 1 Missile

&bullet; Heat Sinks: 10 Single

&bullet; Jump Jets: 0 (0 Max)

&bullet; ECM Capable?: No

&bullet; Module Slots: 2

&bullet; Movement Archetype: TinyShadow Hawk SHD-2D

Tonnage: 55

Engine: 275 StandardTop Speed: 81 kph

Max Engine Rating: 360

&bullet; Torso Movement:

90 degrees to each side.

30 degrees up and down.

Arm Movement:

35 degrees to each sid

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